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How the West Was Won (film)
How the West Was Won is an epic western from 1962 ,directed by John Ford , Henry Hathaway and George Marshall and is composed of five more or less stand-alone parts: The Rivers, The Plains, The Civil War, The Railroad and The Outlaws. It's a epic drama in which four generations of a family are followed as pulling westward from New York to the west of the US between 1839 and 1889. The film was shot in Cinerama. A process that was used only for that time for documentaries. In this process, film, use is made of three cameras which are coupled to each other and which at the same time the scenes from different angles. In the cinema took three projectors for the amalgamation of the image on curved screens. The film was inspired by an extensive series of historical narratives and photo reports about the colonization of the American West that were published in 1959 in the journal Life . The screenplay by author Louis L'Amour turned into a novel. In 1997 the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress The film was a success in theaters with sales of $ 15 million - in 1962. A total of $ 35 million, - transformed into USA (January 1970). Content * 1 Story ** 1.1 The Rivers (rivers) (1830) ** 1.2 The Plains (prairies) (1850) ** 1.3 The Civil War (American Civil War) (1861-1865) ** 1.4 The Railroad (railway) (1868) ** 1.5 The Outlaws (the bandits) (1880) ** 1.6 Epilogue * 2 Cast * 3 Background ** 3.1 Director ** 3.2 Actors ** 3.3 Cinerama ** 3.4 Recordings ** 3.5 Locations * 4 Restoration * 5 Prizes * 6 Following * 7 Music Story The film follows four generations of a family pulling westward between 1839 and 1889 and is divided into five sections and an epilogue: The Rivers (rivers) (1830) In 1830 decision Zebulon Prescott with his family to give up the comfortable life in a small town in New York State. The Prescott see great opportunities in the 'West'. In 1830, the west of the current state Illinois accessible via the Erie Canal. Before Prescott raft travel the channel they encounter mountain man Linus Rawlings. (A 'Mountain man' was a hunter and explorer who wasACTIVE especially in the Rocky Mountains between 1810 and 1880). Rawlings is the way to Pittsburgh toTRADE skins.The daughter of Zebulon Prescott, Eve, falls in love with Linus and it is reciprocal. Linus, however, will still not capture. He travels on and arrives at an isolatedTRADING post at the river. The station is owned by a group of river pirates led by a certain "Colonel" Hawkins. Linus is the daughter of Hawkins stabbed in the back and thrown into a deep hole. Linus, however, is not very hurt and he knows the family Prescott the rescue of an attack of the river pirates. The family continues the journey, but the damaged raft is gripped by a rapid and Zebulun and drowned his wife. Linus, who is still in love with Eve, returns to the hard-hit family Prescott. He married Eve, though he promise that henceforth he will continue to live in the place where Eves parents have died. The Plains (prairies) (1850) In 1850 travels Lily Prescott, the sister of Eve, to St. Louis to work as a dancer in a seedy dance hall. Soon she attracts the attention of gambler Cleve Van Valen. Van Valen learns that Lily has inherited a gold mine in California and together with a bunch of wagons would travel there. For the gambler all this doubly interesting, he is attracted to Lily and her gold he canPAY his debts. He also travels with the bunch and trying to seduce Lily. He has this competition from the leader of the bunch, Roger Morgan. Lily, however, was totally charmed by both men and decline, much to the chagrin of her friend, Agatha Clegg, who is looking for a man. During the trip, the bunch wagons attacked by Cheyenneindianen . The cluster survives the attack and arrives in California. Since the gold mine appears exhausted and LilyLOOKING FOR A JOB as a dancer in a dancing set up in a makeshift town. Cleveland is now gone, but Morgan finds Lily back and asks her to marry him. Lily refuses again. Not much later, Lily was adopted as a singer in a luxury river boat salon. Coincidentally Cleve aboard and when he hears Lily sing he interrupts hisPOKER game to ask for her hand. He tells her about the great opportunities that await them in the fast growing San Francisco . Lily agrees to want to marry him. The Civil War (American Civil War) (1861-1865) In 1861 the civil war broke out and a number of southern states seceding from the United States and continues as the Confederate States. Linus Rawlings takes as a captain in the army of the Northern states (also referred to the EU). The son of Linus and Eve, Zeb, wants to escape the farm and takes very against his mother's wishes, also served in the army of the Union. During the bloody Battle of Shiloh Zeb discovers that the war is not as adventurous as he had thought. What he does not know is that his father was killed in the same battle. If Zeb meets a disillusioned soldier of the Confederate, they decide to desert together. Before Zeb however can flee he hears the generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union talk. The soldier of the Confederate realizes that he the south can a disservice by killing both men. If he attempts to shoot Grant and Sherman, he is stabbed to death by Zeb. Zeb returns to the army and continues to fight for the Union. If the war ends in 1865, Zeb returns to the farm. His mother is now deceased and Zeb now has no reason to stay. He does his part of the farm to his brother and goes to the west, a new challenge. The Railroad (railway) (1868) In 1868 we are working hard on the opening up of the United States. The Pony Express has laid the groundwork for improved communication and now a transcontinental telegraph system under construction. Two railway companies have been given concession to connect the east coast of the US west coast. The Central Pacific Railroad started in the west and the Union Pacific Railroad to the east. Both railway companies conduct a merciless competitive struggle to explain much but rails. In their wake all kinds of settlers traveling in search of new land. Zeb Rawlings is a lieutenant in the cavalry to save the US military and has the thankless task of advancing peace between the railway companies and the Indian tribes. He will be given help from the older bison hunter Jethro Stuart, an old friend of Linus Rawlings. As an employee of the railways a treaty with the Indians flouted and will build on their sacred ground, the flame hits the pan. The Arapaho rise up andCHASE a herd of bison through the camp of the railways, which are dozens of victims, including women and children. Disgust over the behavior of railway staff will Zeb resigned and left for Arizona. The Outlaws (the bandits) (1880) San Francisco in 1880, Lily Van Valen-Prescott, the widow of Cleve Van Valen sells her stuff. She is now bankrupt after she and Cleveland several fortunes have rushed through. After she has paid off her debts, she travels to her only remaining possession, a ranch in Arizona. She invites her cousin Zeb Rawlings and his family to come along. Zeb, who has since been appointed US Marshall travels with his wife Julie and his children to the train station ofGOLD City to meet his aunt Lily. At the station Zeb also sees his old enemy back, the bandit Charlie Gant. Zeb has ever shot dead the brother of Gant in a duel and that the latter never forgave him. Gant threatens the family of Zeb and seeking help at the MarshallGOLD City, Lou Ramsey. Unfortunately for Zeb Ramsey could do little for him because Gant is wanted in the district. Zeb discovers that Gant is preparing a robbery of aGOLD transport of the railways. Along with Ramsey he lays a trap for the bandits that ends in a firefight. Gant and his gang shot and Zeb can bring relief. Together with his family and aunt Lily Zeb travels to the ranch in Arizona. Epilogue A brief epilogue shows Los Angeles and San Francisco in the early sixties. In particular, the Golden Gate Bridge and the famous vierdekssnelweg mustINDICATE that the former 'wild west' has become a modern area. Cast Background Director The five segments wereDIRECTED by three directors. Henry Hathaway took the lion's shareACCOUNTED for. He directed The Rivers, The Plains and The Outlaws. John Ford was responsible for The Civil War and George Marshall took The RailroadACCOUNTED for. Although he did not appear in theCREDITS was Richard Thorpe responsible for many second unitWORK. Actors Numerous stars from the early sixties were part of the actors. Despite this, a large number of stars or being rejected them personally involved. Marlon Brando , Kirk Douglas , Doris Day , Cary Grant , Audrey Hepburn , James Cagney , Bing Crosby , Frank Sinatra , Burt Lancaster , Shirley MacLaine and Kim Novak fell to a or other reason. Spencer Tracy was originally supposed to play a role in the film, but his health prevented this. He then took the role of the narrator in itself. Bing Crosby which this was originally attracted then fell off. Gary Cooper was originally supposed to play the role of Linus Rawlings, but died before the shooting began. He was replaced by James Stewart who actually (though as Cooper) was too old for the role. The character of Linus Rawlings was, according to the scenario, a man of 28, Stewart was 54. ActressHope Lang was chosen as the young Julie Stuart and theFUTURE wife of Zeb. But her scenes were cut from the film. For that reason played the older actress Carolyn Jones Julie in old age in the segment The Outlaws. There were so many stars that some actors were not even mentioned in theCREDITS. This fate befell include Lee Van Cleef , John Larch , Jay C. Flippen , Carleton Young and Harry Dean Stanton . The only actor who came back into several segments were Debbie Reynolds (Lily) and George Peppard (Zeb), she participated in three of the five segments. Lily of the character was originally to drown in the first segment The Rivers, but the screenwriters changed this because they wanted to use Lily as the unifying element in the film. Raymond Massey played the role of Abraham Lincoln played on stage, in film and on television. In How the West Was Won Lincoln, he played for the last time. John Wayne had the honor he was coveted by more directors .. He was initially selected for a role in a segment of Henry Hathaway, John Ford but demanded that he got Wayne in the role of General Sherman in The Civil War. Besides many stars 1200 extras were hired, including some Indian tribes. Cinerama In the fifties a new film process was launched: Cinerama. Initially, the process was used only for documentaries, but early sixties it was also used in two feature films The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and How the West Was Won. The recordings were made with three cameras that were matched and the same object from three sides shots. The left camera shot from the left object to the right, the right camera from the right object on the left and the third camera took the object from the front on. Later, the films were from three 35mmPROJECTORS projected on a large, curved screen, which gave a sweeping effect on the film. Because the film is composed of three adjacent projected footage was not only to see a much larger space, but also the details were clear. So bright that the costumes could not be made with the sewing machine, but were hand sewn, as was customary to dress in the nineteenth century. This increased theCOST, not only for costumes, but also for the decoration of the much larger sets. One drawback was that, certainly in the beginning, always the seams were visible where the projected images dovetailed. The directors tried to cover it up by that spot from the projection seams, trees, lampposts, houses, doors and chests to take. Most actors had little use for the system. Because the camera now had a much longer range, was to compare the act with a performance on the stage. Where a film camera normally just creates an intimate effect, whereby an actor can act very subdued, there were the actors at Cinerama just play as if they were on stage. The result was that many actors acting emphatically exaggerated in the Cinerama films. Another problem with the several images was that only after the films were synchronized next to each other and the projected relationship between the actors were pulled apart. The projection on the curved screen seems like the actors themselves do not make eye contact or foreign interact. It seems like they look over someone, rather than to each other, or just someone looking away from someone. Because it was already gained experience with The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm tried the directors of How the West Was Won compensate a thing by letting the actors looking away from the camera and pretending they look at their fellow actors. After completion of the synchronization process and the projection on the curved screen watched the actors on the screen or to each other. But it brought back so many problems for the actors who knew at last where they no longer had to look that Cinerama after How the West Was Won was no longer used for movies. The screen was so stretched the close-ups were almost impossible. Usually the main actor was placed in the middle for the center camera, which was drawn up as close as possible. Most actors were struggling to get so close to the camera that looked like a giant machine under a black hood with three lenses. It also posed a problem for director John Ford who used to sit next to the camera and thus to follow the action.Because the three camera lenses overlapped Ford was still partially in view. This was solved by cinematographer Joseph LaShelle who built a structure on top of the camera where Ford could sit. Because there were actually three films simultaneously recorded materialCOSTS were huge. To avoid wastage of film material was to know the actors asked their lyrics by heart and to adhere to the marked places in the shooting. To cutCOSTS even more directors made the use of material from previous Cineramadocumentaires as This is Cinerama (1952) (the opening scene of the film with the image of the Rocky Mountains and the epilogue to San Francisco and Los Angeles). The Alamo (1960) (the marching Mexican army), and Raintree County (1957) (a battle scene from the Civil War). Recordings The recordings were relatively quick, especially because of the actors demanded that they should know their texts by heart to "bloopers" and thus avoid waste of the film material. For example, the scenes of the raft on the river from The Rivers were recorded in just seven days. The river boat that was used was also used for the documentary Raintree County in 1957. Even John Wayne showed his professionalism shown by his role of General Sherman to take five days. In contrast, the shots of the Indians attack took the wagons bunch six weeks. This attack was recorded at Lone Pine in California. In the scenario envisaged in a covered wagon which falls from a hill. The special effects department was put toWORK to create the illusion that the audience if it were sitting in the wagon. Rails were built on the slope of a small hill, and the bulk of the wagon without wheels, was strapped on a flatbed trailer with a mechanism that the wagon over the head let go when the trailer across the tracks drove down. The camera was being put to the back of the trailer and oriented so that the stunt people in the picture were brought together with blankets, barrels and boxes rolled through each other. In total they spent two days preparing. The scenes was then incorporated with various takes. Eventually, it took the whole scene in the film just five seconds. Dangerous the stunts were otherwise not. Stuntman Bob Morgan was seriously injured and even lost a leg in the shooting of the last segment The Outlaws. At the end of the segment is a firefight between the two air marshals and the bandits. The gunfight takes place on a moving train and Morgan who played a bandit crouched beside a pile of wood on one of the flat goods wagons. Unluckily broke the chain that held enough together the wood and Morgan was almost crushed by the sliding timber. He was so badly hurt that it took five years before he could walk independently again. Locations There were used various locations in the USA The attack of the Indians or the wagon was recorded in the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine in California. Perkinsville Train Station, Arizona served as the City ofGOLD drive in the Outlaw Segment. It is still there. The Lone Pine campground in Lone Pine formed the backdrop to the farm of the Rawlings. Furthermore, among other things included in Badlands National Park in South Dakota, Battery Rock, Shawnee National Forest in Illinois, Cedar Mountain, Utah, Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad in Durango, Colorado, the High Sierra Mountains, California, Monument Valley in Utah, Rocky Mountains, Tucson, Arizona and on the Ohio River in Kentucky. Restoration Television playback of a movie recorded in the Cinerama system years was not possible without considerable mutilations. The film itself was for that reason see little after 1962 and became in the following years more and more damaged by the ravages of time. In 2000, Crest Digital was commissioned to restore the original Cineramanegatieven. The company built its own Cineramaprojectieruimte to realize everything.They tried to integrate the three films so that the image also was acceptable on a normal flat screen in place of the curved Cineramaschermen. On the last DVD and Blu-Ray edition this goal is reached. On the Blu-Ray is to see the movie even with the effect of a curved screen. Prizes The film won three Oscars for Best Editing, Best Sound and Best screenplay. Following In 1979 made ABC Television TV series with the same name as the film. A total of 11 episodes were made. Music The film was inspired by an eponymous series of articles in Life. The article series was followed by a double album with western songs sung by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney . Several songs from the album such as "Bound for the Promised Land" and "What Was Your Name in the States?" was also used in the film. Category:American film Category:Adventure Film Category:Drama Movies Category:Romantic movie Category:Western Category:Film of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Category:Films 1962 Category:Film in the National Film Registry Category:Films of John Ford Category:Film Henry Hathaway Category:Films of George Marshall